


The Dryad’s Hart

by LazyFae



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: BAMF Harry, BAMF Lily, Child Death, Dimension Travel, F/M, Family Feels, Feral Harry, Feral Lily, Harry Potter!AU, James Potter Lives, Lily Evans Potter Lives, Lily was pregnant that Halloween, Older brother Harry, Pining James Potter, Protective James, Protective Lily, Rating subject to change, Sirius Black & James Potter Friendship, Slow burn get together, Sort Of, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-13 00:24:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16882116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazyFae/pseuds/LazyFae
Summary: After his son died, James Potter was devastated. When his wife died too soon afterward while giving birth, he thought he’d never feel complete again, let alone see her standing right in front of him. Except this isn’t really his wife is it. It’s some dangerous half-feral version of her who looks like she’s a moment away from tearing his throat out to protect their equally wild son. Her wild son. And he knows she’s not his wife. He knows that. But all he can think as he’s staring into her savagely piercing green eyes is that Lily Evans Potter always did look beautiful when she was a moment away from ripping him a new one. Literally in this case.





	The Dryad’s Hart

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this 4am when I couldn’t sleep. I was reading a fanfic on another site when I came across another dimension travelling Harry Potter, where the Potters are still alive including another version of himself. It was pretty good, but it did make me want to write a version in which Harry was different. This happened.
> 
> This story is mostly my excuse to write a romance between a man and a woman that doesn’t have me wanting to throw up or murder one of the romantic leads.
> 
> Sporadic updates, but I never abandon a fic. My first posted on this site so... show me some love I guess? I love comments that take guesses, ask questions and express desires for specifics in the future story. But really I’m a slut for em so any kind’ll do.

When Lily was six she helped Sev run away from his horrid dad, who always smelt like sweat and the dust from building sites and alcohol. She’d told mum and dad, and she’d told Tuney and she’d even told the teachers but no one ever did anything. So one day she decided if the adults in charge weren’t going to listen to save Sev, then she might as well. They were going to go on holiday to somewhere in France, and Lily had begged and pleaded for Sev to come along too. Eventually mum and dad, looking awfully sorry at Sev’s unwashed clothes for the hundredth time, said yes. 

Sev’s horrid dad wouldn’t let him go though, and Lily cried and Tuney laughed at her when they thought Sev would have to stay behind after all, but eventually mum went round to speak to Sev’s mum and got permission. Sev’s dad had to go along with it because Diane in her class said the whole street was starting to talk about Sev’s horrid dad being awful mean about not letting Sev go on holiday. And maybe Diane was worse than Tuney when it came to making things sound like more of a big deal than they really were, but Diane also made a stupid stuck up face whenever Sev was near, and now she almost sounded like she was on his side, so there had to be something true in there.

Even though they got permission Sev still wouldn’t speak to her for two whole days, because he knew Lily had begged mum to do something before his mum had received that unexpected house call. Mum was always kinder to Sev than dad. But he said that his horrid dad had been embarrassed that his mum had given permission and really angry with her. Lily didn’t understand why that was her fault when she’d been working really hard to give him such a huge gift. She thought he was very ungrateful and told him so. Either way, Sev had been upset with her and so she apologised to him and easily forgave him when he did the same.

And Sev could come with them to France. Lily had been reading wildlife survival books that were a little bit more difficult to understand than what she usually read, but she’d been very determined. They were also for boys and she’d been teased some in class for reading boy books, and Tuney had said some mean things too, but Sev had stuck up for her so it had been okay.

Tuney had been horribly embarrassed to be seen with Sev at the airport and had refused to even look at Lily and Sev as they held hands so as not to get lost or separated. She was still angry with Lily for inviting Sev along on their family holiday, and for causing such a fuss about it. Lily didn’t care though, she knew she had to get this right the first time or she’d never get another chance. She hadn’t told Sev, or anyone what she planned to do in France. 

The French countryside was lovely and Sev and Lily played and swam in the pool everyday. Mum and dad were distracted by some scandal at dad’s work shortly before they left. Some sort of television series about war being cancelled, Lily didn’t really care. The place they were staying was right in front of a huge amount of trees - more trees in one place than Lily had ever seen before. Apparently no one lived in them at all, and there were barely any roads going through them. Sev and Lily and Tuney weren’t allowed to go beyond the tree line though. 

Tuney tried to scare Sev and Lily one night by telling them that people got lost in there and were never seen again. Sev’s breath had shaken a little even though he pretended to be brave, but his hand had been clammy and squeezing Lily’s hand way too tight. Lily had tried not to smile, because it sounded perfect.

Three days before they had to go back to England - with a golden tan for Lily and orangey blonde bits in her hair and freckles across her nose, with a healthy colour and shape in Sev’s usually ill looking face and shorter hair because he’d gotten too hot in the French sun with its blackest black colour - Lily packed the things she’d gathered sneakily that they would need, in a bag for her and a bag for Sev. Then she’d crept past a sleeping Tuney, and over to Sev’s room, and quietly woken him up. He’d been sleepy and confused, but he’d done as he was told when she said to put his shoes on and follow her.

She took his hand, shushing him when he asked questions, and she led him outside, into the trees. They walked for ages before Sev pulled his hand from Lily’s and asked in a less confused voice where they were going. Lily knew that even if Sev decided he’d rather go back to find her parents so they could take him back to England and back to his horrid dad, that he wouldn’t be able to find his way without her. She also knew that he might be upset or angry with her, but she wouldn’t change her mind even if he hit her with a branch using his magic like he did one time with Tuney.

Lily had decided that Sev was better away from his horrid dad and England altogether if the adults in charge there never did anything. She cared about Sev a lot, and she also cared about doing the right thing, even if it was difficult and people didn’t agree with her. So she was very generously willing to run away from her own family and take Sev with her. Even if he was mad at her at first, he’d see it her way soon.

They had everything she thought they would need for at least a week, and Sev was really good with plants, and Lily had been reading a lot. Anything else that they needed could be sorted out with their magic, because Lily was really good at using her magic to do what she wanted it to now, especially when she was outside and around plants and rocks and things.

So she had squared her shoulders to look confident, and told Sev firmly that they were running away and were going to live in the woods in France from now on. Sev had stared at her with big surprised eyes, and she right that at first he seemed very upset, but Lily had never lost an argument with Sev before and she wasn’t starting now. He always saw it her way eventually, no matter how much time it took.

🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃 

The three weeks during which her little girl and Severus Snape were missing were the worst of Mrs Evan’s life. Waking up to check on Lily and Petunia, who were usually up long before she or her husband were, she didn’t think much of the empty room, until after her keen eyes realised that the room was far emptier than usual. Half of Lily’s belongings were missing.

A little suspicious but not thinking much on it, she went downstairs to make breakfast, only to find Petunia the sole person waiting for her, very pink faced and upset looking. It didn’t take more than a second for Petunia to begin heatedly telling her that Lily and ‘Snape’ were probably playing in the woods where they had been told not to go. There were wild boar in the woods which could be very dangerous.

It was an hour later that they got concerned when there was no sign of either of them no matter where they searched. Mrs Evans had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that got worse and worse as the time ticked by. By early afternoon they had called the expat who owned the country cottage they were staying in, who spoke French and called the police for them.

She and her husband made frantic arrangements in order to extend their stay in France, when a day went by and there was no sign of either of them. Mrs Evans was distraught, Petunia would hardly speak, and Mr Evans sporadically went for angry walks around the property. As the days moved terrifyingly onward, they began to lose hope. 

Three weeks after Lily and Severus went missing, she and her husband stared silently out of the windows at night, as it rained for the first time that summer, aching for the return of their daughter. The next morning, hand in hand, walking out of the tree line like they’d gone for nothing more than a quick exploration just beyond, both of them appeared.

They were damp and cool from the rain last night and the still lower temperatures. Severus had lost what meat they’d managed to put on his face, and Lily looked wan too. They both had dark circles underneath their eyes, and a myriad of scrapes and bruises. Severus was limping, having badly twisted his ankle, and Lily’s hair was a horrific tangled mess. Both children were dirty, and their clothes were ripped, and Severus had sunburn across the bridge of his nose.

They were both cold, starving, desperately thirsty and dirty. But beyond a deeper scrape here or there and Severus’ ankle, neither of them were too worse for wear after a meal, a wash and a nap.

Neither Severus nor Lily would speak a word of what happened. They were quiet and still, holding each other’s hands tightly and refusing to be parted for a good three days afterward. Severus was more solemn and withdrawn than even before, and when he did speak there was an edge of temper there that hadn’t existed so continuously three weeks earlier. Lily too was quiet and removed. At first Mrs Evans was just too relieved to have her baby back to care, and then concerned at what had happened. She chalked Lily’s attitude up to the shock and trauma of the whole incident.

But time went by, and she began to notice that they were both different. Severus was moodier, and more clingy than ever to Lily, he barely spoke to Mrs Evans when he visited and he preferred to play with Lily outside in all weathers, seeming more at ease when he wasn’t around other people. Lily on the other hand, was more subtle in her differences. 

She seemed fine at first, and like she was recovering from her ordeal, but Mrs Evans noticed that her little girl was less inclined to follow rules that didn’t suit her, she cared less what others said about her, she didn’t cry when she was told off any more but just stared back with these sharp eyes that although were the same colour as her husband, no longer resembled him. It was like she was a step back from the world half the time, watching it through a cautious gaze that saw far too much. She was more stubborn than ever when she did get angry, and less apologetic when she hurt others with her words.

When she lost her temper it became an overwhelming, uncontrollable burst of flame, and then she would disappear before the other person could recover. She, like Severus, spent far more time outside than she had ever done. They went places that Mrs Evans knew were banned, and ran wild.

That was the word for it. Lily was a little more wild. Concerned, she’d spoken to her husband about it, and they’d tried to get Lily to spend more time playing with the other little girls her age, or even with Petunia. After some effort and time, Lily and Severus became less disconcertingly close to each other, and Mrs Evans had hope that she’d start clamping down on some of her less decent behaviour. 

It didn’t work. If anything, Mrs Evans realised that Severus might have been tempering Lily some. Without Severus around all the time to run off with, Lily went off on her own. She was gone for the whole day sometimes- before they’d woken up and long after curfew. She was desperately worried, but nothing she said or did ever got through to her daughter.

Nobody else seemed to notice anything outside of the household. Lily was still a very bright student, and she wasn’t a fuss in class, nor did she bother anyone. So when a letter came, alongside a teacher, with tales of wizards and witches and magic, Mrs Evans and her husband were relieved more than anything, because surely this explained things. Surely Lily’s untameable oddness could be explained by her being a witch.

To discover that Lily had known all along, and that Severus was magic too... well it settled something in Mrs Evans heart. Lily was different, and so was Severus, but that was okay because there was an explanation for it, and she was going somewhere to people who knew how to handle that. Petunia was upset but she wouldn’t open up to Mrs Evans or her husband - she was too old for that now according to her eldest. 

What glimpses she got of the world of magic, like Diagon Alley, were a delight and she began to feel real excitement for Lily. There was something bright and vivacious and unstoppable about her untameable little girl, and she just knew that with this magic, Lily could do anything.

**Author's Note:**

> It’ll be a couple chapters before we get any James pov. Hang in there.


End file.
